A former customer recently contacted me, saying someone in his congregation wants a tallit just like his, but needs my input on the sizing. He wrote:

Hi. I’d like to order another tallit with techeilet please
All white
Size 60 (the person is five foot eleven … Is that the right size for him?)
Tied according to the GRA

I wrote back that actually he might be able to determine the right size for his friend better than I.

I’m 5’7″ and I wear a Size 60. It comes down in back to about mid-thigh. But some people like their tallit to drape down further (which I think looks more elegant), while others prefer it shorter, which is more manageable for some people. “If he has seen you in it that would be a good way to gauge what he’d like,” I explained. “At 5’11” I think he might want a tallit that measures Size 70.”

One other piece of key information is that a Size 55 tallit is 10 cm (4 inches) shorter in lenth, so when worn it will be something like 1 inch shorter in front and 3 inches longer in back compared to a Size 60. And a Size 70 tallit is 10 cm (4 inches) longer in lenth, so when worn it will be something like 1 inch longer in front and 3 inches longer in back compared to a Size 60.

As you can see the size differences are not extreme, so you don’t have to be too concerned, but I wanted to provide you all the information you might need. I hope I’m not making this sound too complicated.

For more comprehensive tallit sizing info, try using our Tallit Size Wizard>>>